China's Ritual Feasts: Elite Men, Social Change, and the Imagination of Rural Authenticity in Luzhou, Sichuan

Abstract

In the southern Sichuan city of Luzhou, as in other Chinese cities and towns, social and economic relationships are cemented with ritual feasting. The practice invites comparison to potlatch as a competitive, reciprocal giving system (Barnett 1938). Feasting as explored by Mayfair Yang (1994), James Watson (1987), Andrew Kipnis (1997), and Yunxiang Yan (1996), among others, has long been a part of Chinese social life and ethical practice. Traditionally, feasting has been part of larger ritual events such as weddings and funerals.